Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

I feel as though after this long my first real post back in the blogging game should appear with a great big BANG. It should be hilarious or touching or inspiring or any combination of all these things and should most definitely be worth the wait.

The six month wait.

Yes indeed, my last real post (excluding the impromptu announcement two weeks ago intended to force my hands...to type) was six months ago to the day.

A lot has changed in those months.

I'm still me, of course. Bentley's still here. I'm still single in LA, still at the new job (which I guess isn't so new now), still full of feels, still spending inordinate amounts of time in bed. I'm still as mixed up as ever.

But aren't we all?

God, I hope so.

If not then I am well and truly fucked.

Ways In Which Taylor's Life Has Changed

1. We'll start with the good: I moved out of my little studio for one (plus cat) and into a lovely apartment with a friend of a friend, who is now my friend. Funny how that works. It's nice having another person around, and she's a yogini too.
2. But I haven't actually gone to yoga in months. Months. So I guess "too" is unnecessary.
3. Also I completely abandoned any sort of counting of points or calories or bites of bread.
4. I've gained, oh, about 80 pounds from my lowest. So you know, there's that.

Okay, I guess not a ton has changed. Just some important stuff. Like, you know, the whole premise of this blog and my life's purpose for the past two years. 

So, yeah. No big bang post here. Just some pathetic little whimpers as I try to get my shit together.

Hi.

I'll be back. 

Warning: Change In Progress

Testing...testing...1, 2, 3....is this thing on?

It would appear so.

Stay tuned...

*peek*

I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW. I'm the WORST.

As the Biff said, how can she stalk me when I never post?! Only ten posts in October? Pathetic.

Fail.

I just haven't felt any creativity lately. Which is silly, because half this blog isn't creative at all, it's just nonsense. And I should be able to do nonsense. I am nonsensical.

So you know...hi! What's up? How's life? Any stories?

I have stories.

Let's break it down.

Job

I LOVE MY NEW JOB! I was so, so scared before starting, afraid I was jumping in to something I wasn't ready for, afraid I wasn't smart enough, afraid I'd fail, just afraid. But apparently I'm pretty awesome at it, because they set me free to work on my own by the end of the week. Weeeeeee! Everyone is super nice, the offices are lovely, and I actually feel useful. It's amazing how fast the day flies when a) you're constantly busy and b) you're done at 4pm. It's like magic. So yeah, super stoked on the new gig. Go. Me.

Boys

Well, things are not as fabulous in my love life as they are in my work life, but we can't have it all, right? RIGHT?! (Please be to not comment if everything in your life is awesome, yes? Yes.) I had lunch with Vegas last weekend, and it was lovely, but I don't really get the vibe that he's all that interested in like...dating. He's a busy Phd student, it's fine, I still love the fact that we actually hung out after we met that one crazy night, and I'd see him again if he asked. But I'm not holding my breath. As for Nicknameless, I don't think I have to work very hard on giving him a nickname, 'cause I just have this inkling that he's over it. I have barely heard from him this week, and my last invitation to hang was brushed aside with a "oh, very busy, maybe later" text. I'm a little sad, but what can you do? If he doesn't see that I'm FUCKING AWESOME, then I don't need him in my life.

Health

Well, I've been going to yoga! I could complain that I should be going more, but something is...something, right? I really do feel so much better when I have a consistent practice going. As for my diet...not so much. I mean, I'm not totally in binge mode. So that's good. But I'm making poor choices, and going with whatever's easiest, and I'm feeling rather....grotesque. When I'm at yoga, it's hard to shut off the part of my brain that notices how different things feel now that I'm bigger again, and how I look in the mirror. But baby steps, right? RIGHT?! I'll get back to my good habits eventually, and for now I just want to concentrate on yoga, and not what I'm putting in my mouth. 

Happiness

I'm trying. I'm really trying to let everything good in my life be my focus, and trying so hard not to let the darkness in. But it's hard. I feel like there are two parts of me, the part that is living an amazing life right now and knows it, the part that is making friends and making changes (however small) and moving forward, and that part knows I should be happy. But then there's the other part of me that just...can't be, the part that berates myself for my flaws and failures, the part that doesn't want to leave my apartment, the part that needs to be medicated. Heavily. The part that thinks I'm worthless. But...I'm trying. 

And that's what matters.

Back to the Blog

I'M HERE.

I didn't die. I didn't abandon you all. I just...had not much to say. Which is weird, because life is happening, and you'd think I'd want to talk about it.

But maybe my narcissism is dwindling and I've realized...no one cares.

Regardless, you're getting a summary of my life. Starting NOW.

• I have gone back to yoga. YES. YES I HAVE. I knew the second I renewed my physical practice I'd feel a million times better, and I do. I don't know why I ever stopped, probably your basic mix of insecurity and laziness, but the important thing is that I'm back, doing something for myself and my soul, embracing the love of yoga. WEEEEEEE!
• I'm auditioning to be an intern at my yoga studio in mid-November. DOUBLE WEEEEEE!
• Third date with the new nicknameless boy...siiiigh. I like him. Lots. Only hangup: he's my height, about exactly. And I am not tall. This is not HIS problem of course, he is hot as shit and has a six pack I want to lick, attraction is definitely not the issue and I don't judge the shorties. The issue is my self-consciousness about my size, and feeling bigger than him. I have issues. I know I just need to get over it, but it's hard when I'm larger than I'd like and feeling particularly vulnerable.
• So, adoring Nicknameless, but I'm having lunch with Vegas on Sunday too. It's only our second time seeing each other since we met, but I feel like I owe it to myself to see if there's an equivalent spark. And he is TALL.
• Tomorrow is my last day at my current soul-sucking job. @#&*$^*#&%$^*!!!! I keep having second thoughts, wondering why I'm leaving such a chill, easy position where I can do whatever the fuck I want, but then someone asks me to do something absurdly stupid and I'm like, "Yes. Get me out of here." I'm so nervous to start the new gig, but I know it's the best thing for me. I think my new, strict schedule and you know...using of my brain, will really have an influence on my life. I'm looking forward to a total lifestyle overhaul.
• I am optimistic about the future. For the first time in awhile.

Organix

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may have noticed that I don't have many romantic entanglements that don't start out on the Internet. It's a sign of the times people.

And a sign of my total isolation?

But this past couple of weeks, I have had two suitors that have appeared rather...organically? And it's just NICE. Something about them feels more exciting, somehow. Authentic.

And in addition to that, on Sunday I randomly met a guy out in the world, who seemed to take a liking to me.

WHAT IS GOING ON, UNIVERSE?!

I had a date with Suitor #1 last Thursday, this guy. Yeah, sure he found and messaged me on OkCupid, but I know him. Sorta. Well, I've met him once before. That means he's real!

As for how it was? Well...as he walked me back to my car, he said very plainly, "You know, I have to say I'm really happy with how that went." And when I voiced my agreement, he slipped his hand into mine.

Awww.

He's suuuuper handsome. That's definitely the word for him, handsome. And funny, and smart, and has varied interests, and a lot to say, and he looks at me...in a way that I like. Like he finds me interesting.

We had another date last night, which was even more fun. He picked me up, and we went to a wine bar, and there's mucho chemistry, and we will definitely be seeing each other again.

Boy needs a nickname.

Suitor #2 was on Saturday night. Vegas. YUP.

I texted him last week. You heard right, I grew me some ladyballs and made the first move. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? And I really wanted to see him again, so I figured...why not? Worst outcome would be no reply, and I could survive that.

And he actually responded right away, lo and behold. And a few days later, after a little texting back and forth, he asked me out.

WIN.

It went very well! We definitely had fun, or at least, I did. There were grilled cheese sandwiches and cocktails at a little hipster bar, and witty banter and flirting. I teased him for not texting me, and it's clear that he's just a shy little PhD student who didn't know if it was okay to do so, and it's really quite adorable. I like his beard and his little glasses and yeah...he's really fucking cute. I think he likes me but I'm not sure and those little butterflies are deliciously torturous.

He did text me to make sure I got home okay, and he also texted me the next morning too. So...good signs? We've chatted once since then, but he hasn't asked me out again.

We'll see.

Suitor #3 may not really be a suitor...WE'LL SEEEEEE. On Sunday, I went to brunch with the yoga girls, and one of them brought along two of her male friends. One of them has been chatting me up via text and FB for the last couple of weeks, but it was the other one who I hit it off with. After brunch the girls all left and my drunk-on-mimosas self was going to go home and veg, but the boys started a very persistent campaign to get me to come hang out with them at their house in the Valley. I ultimately gave in, and the new guy drove me and my car out to their place. The other guy got...delayed...on the way to the house (I'm shortening up this story for the sake of propriety), which resulted in an afternoon spent with this new boy, who really did seem to fancy me. But when the other guy finally arrived at the house along with a group of his friends, he just...disappeared.

It was weird.

And then I was left to deal with the increasingly obnoxious advances of one of the new people, a tiny little man who was getting all up in my personal space and would not leave me alone. Awkward.

So since I wasn't having fun, I left.

My guy texted me later like, "Where'd you go?"

WHERE'D YOU GO, BUDDY?!

So, I don't know if I'll hear from him, considering I left without saying goodbye, and he didn't seem to like me enough to you know...stick around.

But regardless...I have enough other men on my plate to deal with.

Clearly.

I QUIT

It happened Friday after I got home from work.

They offered me the job.

THEY OFFERED ME THE JOB.

But I waited, you see. Waited to tell you all. Not because I don't love you, but because I didn't want to curse it or fuck it up by revealing it to the world until the actually employment letter was in my hands (or on my hard drive) and I had officially quit my current job.

Which I just did.

It went a little something like this...

I start the new job two weeks from today.

HELLS YEAH BITCHES.

Old and New Links

I found a post draft from a few weeks ago with a few links I never shared with you.

Want 'em?

Sure.

The Old

Vintage Crime Scene Photos Superimposed on Modern NY Streets (Warning: Graphic)

Very nifty.

No Friendship Can Compare To This One Between A Dog And An Elephant

Life. Complete.

Comedy Gold

BAHAHAHA. Some excellent ones on here. Some...not so good.

The New

For Everyone Who Has A “Thing” For Redhead Men

....I'll be in my bunk.

Everything You Need to Know About Douchebags You Can Learn From Booze

Oh god. SO GOOD. My favorites:

"Tequila is a man with hand tattoos and hairy feet who makes you feel terrible about yourself."

"IPA doesn't get along with your friends."

Party Like It’s 1988. Celebrating The Best Songs From A Quarter Century Ago

Yeah. Let's travel back to the year of my birth, and get down.

It's October 3rd.

Life, Disinfected

Guys.

I'm on a spree.

I'm so proud of me.

Last night, I left my laptop at work for the first time in ages, and when I got home I actually...did shit. I turned on some stand-up on Netflix (Aziz Ansari, Louis CK, Jim Gaffigan), and I went to WORK. You would not believe the difference in my apartment between, oh, six and eleven last night. It's like magic elves got their fucking magic on. 

Let me walk you through what was going on in one particular corner of my humble abode over the last few weeks, the hallway where my closet and bathroom are located, my little "dressing area". As I've traveled to Vegas and then San Francisco, as I've slowly run out of clothes due to my shortage of quarters and thus inability to do laundry, and so have needed to dig out every old piece of clothing I could find that would fit me...it has devolved into a state of brightly colored carnage. Clothes and shoes and purses were spilling out of the closet. The floor was barely visible. Hangers dangled haphazardly from each other. The cat would often be found perched on piles of clothes, smirking. It looked, quite frankly, like the spitting image of my closet in high school.

I guess I had devolved, too.

AND NOW. It's beautiful. All clean things hanging neatly and color coordinated. All shoes lined carefully in rows. Everything in its place, and the floor? VISIBLE. 

So that was last night. A full on closet reform, plus finally unpacking my suitcase from Vegas and organizing my dresser and doing a single load of laundry with quarters discovered hidden about the apartment. Then today, instead of rock climbing like I'm brave, I went to the grocery store and a) filled my new crazy pills prescription b) bought cleaning supplies c) got quarters and d) got groceries for the first time in months.

WHO AM I!?

TONIGHT: I plan to scrub the everloving fuck out of my kitchen and my bathroom, and do ALL THE LAUNDRY. I have made playlists, and I am READY. 

I kinda feel like I'm disinfecting my life. 

This has happened before. Emotions make me want to clean. I remember it starting way back from when I was fourteen or so, living up in the Bay Area, overwhelmed with something or other and feeling the intense need to organize. And I think, maybe, this is the sign of something good.

A fresh clean apartment, a fresh clean start. 

Because who can feel like a real, productive member of society whilst living in their own filth? No one. 

AWKWARD CITY

I mean...of course.

My life is a constant series of random clusterfucks and ridiculous coincidences, so why should today be any different?

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned getting a message on OkCupid from a guy I made out with in college? He was a friend of my Biff's, and we met at her 20th birthday party, oh...six years ago? I'm so old.

We ended up chatting a bit, then he asked me out for a drink. At the time, I was theoretically trying to make things work with Thumper, so I said we could meet for a friendly catch-up as I was seeing someone, and he was fine with that. Well, now I'm not seeing anyone, so tomorrow's drink is in this odd date/not-date zone, depending on how he's changed after you know, six years.

That is not my story.

This is my story.

So, this boy (nickname as yet to be determined) works at a rock climbing gym in addition to being an actor-y sort. A gym where, quite coincidentally, Thumper happens to climb. Yeah. Yeah. He actually just started a month long unlimited pass this week. Mmhmm.

But that's not the story.

No, the story is that today's SUPERFUN team building event, which I did not plan? Guess where it is?

Uh huh.

I'm apparently supposed to go rock climbing, at his job, with my co-workers, when I have not seen him in SIX YEARS.

AWKWARD CITY.

I honestly don't know if I'm going to go, not because of this awkward shit, but because I already tried rock climbing this summer (on da boat!) and I'm at my capacity for adventurous things, apparently. And I just don't WANT TO. But I texted him to warn him I may be showing up at his job, with the insistence that "I am not a stalker!"

"That's what a stalker would say," he replied.

GOD.

My life.